#Lecygoranson – 714 Delaware St. Podcast

S3 Ep 12: Blue Blockers

We’re talking here about the 17^th and 18^th episodes of season 3 of the Conners (“Regrets, Rehabs, and Realtors” and “Cheating, Revelations, and a Box of Doll Heads,” respectively). We are struck by the serious, emotional moments in these episodes. Becky’s struggle with alcoholism and her trip to Jewish rehab (an infinitely awkward plot point), in particular, brings us to reckon with the elder Mark’s death, Dan’s anger, and Becky’s regrets about her life choices. This also brings up powerful memories for Jackie, who reminds Becky about the family legacy of alcoholism, connecting with the original series storyline about Roseanne and Jackie reckoning with their father’s violence and alcoholism.

We very much take sides with Darlene about her desire to use the Hawaii tickets, rather than sell them. Brian Austin Green, on a field trip out of Beverly Hills, also agrees. Ben is such a stick in the mud, and his mother, Barb (welcome back, Candace Bergen) is a presumptuous maniac, as she confronts Dan about getting help with the mortgage from his kids, effectively keeping her son from happiness. We note the middle-class moral framework embedded in Barb’s perception of familial mutual aid as exploitation. All of this leads Darlene to question whether she and Ben really want the same things.

All the while, Mark looks amazing in his Peter Bogdanovich-style blue blockers. Sadly, these specs reflect Darlene’s clumsy effort to help Mark cheat on a Zoom exam in a bit of added political commentary about class privilege and education. Of course, we spiral about Operation Varsity Blues, scholarships for surprising college sports (sailing?!), and motivational posters.

We top the discussion with a reflection on the reconciliation of JLo and Ben Affleck, aka Bennifer 2.0. Our viewing roundup explores the joy of entering the time capsule of 1970s and 80s New York in the Sons of Sam docuseries, as well as Designing Women alumna Jean Smart’s re-entrance into TV consciousness in the new show Hacks.

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S3 E10: Bad Omens and Baywatch Nights

Herein we talk about the Conners as though they are real people once again. We return to Lanford to discover that Louise has COVID! As the family put together a Covid care package for her, we get a chuckle out of their collection of late Blockbuster DVDs. Darlene’s confession about visiting the indoor hotel pool to relax throws us for a loop. We doubt that such a humid mildew party would be very relaxing. Jackie confronts a bad Yelp reviewer at a beer garden, and Neville gets stern about her domineering behavior. We question Conner family counsel, as Jackie and Darlene advise Becky to lie to an old friend. We laugh at well-placed Henry David Thoreau jokes, complain about unrealistic plot points, such as the notion that the Conners would have a can of tuna on the verge of expiring. That’s not a thing! Oh, but Dan’s new camper is so cute– did he inherit it from Arnie? Did Arnie die? Can we know what’s up with Arnie? There’s more bad Conner-munication, as Dan demands to be Ben’s partner at the hardware store, and the two men with Daddy Issues square off over their pride.

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S3 E5: Becky & Mark 4 Ever

Well, we hope you’ve all been enjoying safe and happy holidays. We’ve been on a bit of a break ourselves, though we will be back with more commentary on The Conners and more of the old show soon! In this episode, we revisit the elopement of Becky and Mark Healy (RIP Mark and beautiful Glenn Quinn), which is portrayed in the back-to-back Season 5 episodes “Terms of Estrangement,” parts 1 and 2. We find Becky to be egregiously hard on Dan as the bike shop goes under, and we spend quite a lot of time on the ways the financial situation the Conners find themselves in here connects to their current situation on The Conners. We celebrate the writers of the original series for their one-liners, non-sequiturs, and inclusion of the ever-vain Nancy and her newly liposuctioned butt. In all, we remember how young our Becky was, but how much she loved Mark (and he loved her, too!). As per usual, we digress into realms of pop culture only somewhat related to the topic at hand. Thanks again to Brenda for suggesting we take some time to cover these two kids in love.

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